Broken Essence
by Swift178
Summary: The events were supposedly erased, but the spirits of Solaris still exist. All it would take is for Robotnik to find the two beings who host those spirits and he could obtain what is known as 'ultimate power'.


Disclaimer: None of the characters in this story belong to me; they belong to Sega/Sonic Team.

**Broken Essence**

It was a sunny day in the place labelled 'the city of water', and nearly everybody who wandered the streets wore summer attire, including shorts, skirts and t-shirts. The city was mostly inhabited by humans of various ages and race, each of which seemed to bear a smile, gabbling endlessly about their beloved ruler. Many of the said humans would be settled by what was assumed to be the best restaurant in Soleanna, either sipping coffee or working their way through various large portions of food.

Amongst the gaggle of humans chatting away noisily sat two very unique creatures; one of which was a tall, sapphire-furred hedgehog, with various patches of peach on his stomach and arms, and emerald eyes which appeared to cloak a cheerful, hyperactive personality. Sat across from him was a rather small, orange-furred male fox with sparkling blue eyes, and extraordinarily, two swishing tails. The two had been eying each other for quite a while, in a somewhat wary manner, as if they were hiding from somebody or something, though it went by unnoticed by residents of Soleanna, who seemed more interesting in discussing some 'festival' which would supposedly take place that night.

"Sonic, what _are_ we doing here?" the young fox had finally blurted out, eying his 'older brother' strangely, with one eyebrow raised and one hand on his chin, leaning forward so the fox and hedgehog were almost nose to nose.

The hedgehog only leaned backwards in response, a small smirk crossing his handsome features, "It's a nice place, little bud."

The fox's eyes narrowed slightly in exasperation, "That didn't answer my question…"

The hedgehog named Sonic only shrugged in reply to that, lifting his feet up onto the table and leaning back further on his chair, moving it off of its front two legs, "Amy will _never_ think of looking for me here."

The younger animal could only rub his head in mild annoyance, before reinstating eye contact with his best friend, "So that's _it_? You're just here as an excuse to hide from Amy? She's not _that _bad, is she?"

"That's not the half of it Tails," Sonic allowed his smirk to be wiped off of his face briefly, leaning forward on his chair a little, "I just need a break from her every now and then, that's all."

Tails shrugged, looking upwards towards the pale blue sky, which was not inhabited by a single cloud, "I know she's a little… _possessive_… but surely she's not that bad…"

The small fox lowered his gaze again back to Sonic's, who only gave him a stern look, "This is _Amy_ we're talking about, Tails. She's way more than just _a little _possessive."

Tails could not find a way to reply to that, thus merely gave his friend a small grin, before his attention was caught by the waiter striding outside with the chilidogs the two had previously ordered. Upon being delivered their food after what had felt like an eternity of waiting for Sonic, the two scoffed their food as quickly as they possibly could, before Sonic grabbed Tails' wrist and tore off as quickly as he could. After all, they could not remain in one place for too long if they were trying to avoid a certain pink Sonic-obsessed hedgehog.

**XXX**

"_Smile." _

_"Your smile is all I need."_

_"Elise… just smile."_

The words seem to flow so flawlessly together every time she lay in her bed at night, walking through realms of her own construction. The following morning she would awaken in deep disappointment, almost expecting to see the owner of that voice laying besides her, rolling over to face her, and giving her a loving grin. The loneliness gripped at her every being upon discovery that it had been a mere dream.

The routine of a princess was often similar, if not the same, and such was expected of her despite her young age. All she could do was take it all into her stride, greet her maids with as much enthusiasm as she could muster and, of course, smile.

To everybody who lived within the Castle of Soleanna alongside her, she appeared to be cheerful and content at all times, as well as dedicated to her title and role in everyday life. What they couldn't see was the emptiness that continuously brewed within her, growing larger by the day. She couldn't quite put her finger on what the problem was, but she was able to recognize the feeling of loneliness that consumed her day by day.

It was almost as if something was missing from her life, though she did not know quite what it was. It was quite impossible to truly describe it but if she were to attempt as such, she would probably say it felt like a large chunk was ripped out of her, dehumanizing her into half a person.

If it were entirely possible for miracles to exist, she would most definitely choose for this person's identity to be unmasked, to which he would then scoop her up into his arms and tell her just how much he loved her. Of course, she knew miracles didn't exist. It was wishful thinking that would never come true.

She shook her head, trying to force that voice out of her mind; a princess always had to keep her mind on her duty. Tonight was the night of the Festival of the Sun after all, to which the people of Soleanna would bless the sun which gave them the light in which they would experience true beauty. She did not have time to allow her mind to wander into dreams, no matter how nice they were…

"Miss Elise?"

The princess turned, her eyes landing on one of her many maids, who smiled at her in a motherly manner. Elise forced a smile on her face, praying that it did not look too strained, "Yes, Mary?"

"Your father wishes to speak with you regarding tonight's Festival," followed the polite, respectful tone of the elderly maid. Elise said nothing to this at first, wondering what her father could possibly want of her, before nodding in response, "Of course."

With a graceful bow, she allowed herself to walk towards the bedroom door slowly, and exited in a silent manner, her thoughts now burning with curiosity. Her father was not an unkind or inconsiderate man of any sorts, but she was aware of how strict he could be, having been brought up by him and him alone for the majority of her childhood, since her mother had died during childbirth years before.

It pained the teenager to no ends to hear of how her mother had truly died, and she believed it to be her fault stubbornly to this very day, though never at any point did she choose to disclose this information to anybody, not even her own father. On the outside, she was a proper and prim princess, who bore the most charming smile known to exist; at least in her citizen's eyes. Deep down though, she often forced herself to fight the curious and anxious teenage girl that she could reason was her real self.

Eventually the young girl arrived at her father's room, slowly resting her hand on the doorknob and taking a few deep breaths in preparation for whatever news her father would give her. Eventually, she pushed herself into opening the door. As soon as she did, her eyes landed on the form of her father, propped up in his bed, his cheeks pale and the usual light found in his eyes nowhere to be seen. Concerned, she moved forwards as quickly as she could, being careful not to trip over any of the mess left on the floor.

"Father?" she asked quietly, "What is it you wanted to see me about?"

The old man looked up at her weakly, already giving the young princess cause for concern. She had never been able to recall him looking at her so helplessly. She gently hurried up towards him, taking him by his large hand.

"Elise," he began in a raspy voice, "I'm afraid to tell you that I won't be able to attend the Festival of the Sun with you tonight. Rosemary seems to believe that I have somehow managed to come down with influenza."

Shaking a little, the princess nodded in understanding, "I-is that serious, father?"

The old man smiled, raising his hand and running it along his daughter's shoulder, "Not terribly. I'll be back on my feet in no time. However, for tonight, you will have to attend to the festival without me. Mary has agreed to accompany you instead."

The young girl nodded, trying not to let tears fill her eyes, "I understand, father. You need your rest."

The duke's hand slowly raised itself to Elise's face, stroking the young girl's cheek and allowed himself to utter a few more words;

"Smile, Elise."

**XXX **

Soleanna Forest was very popular at this time of year, nearing closer and closer towards summer. Many citizens of the city of water chose to take picnics there, often families were found with their children, or young couples seeking only the blissful company of each other. The lake was a beautiful place to visit; hence the majority of families chose to eat there in the shade.

It was all pathetic really. Pathetic how nobody screamed in fear at his mere presence. Pathetic how everybody was _happy _and _blissful_. The worst thing of all though, was quite simply one thing.

They weren't under his rule, but the rule of another, a clearly inferior being. Even after the inferior man calling himself 'the Duke of Soleanna' passed away, there'd still be an inferior being left to take over. Though she was a rather pretty little thing, even looking at her made him lurch. He failed to see what a child could do, attempting to rule a city. What a waste of time.

The elderly man watching them sneered, rubbing his moustache with his long slender fingers, a large smirk crossing his rather old and chubby face, before he turned to face his new 'assistant', or so he liked to call him. After all, the fact that the great Dr. Robotnik would have assistants really only highlighted his true power.

This 'assistant' had approached him not long ago, with news of the ultimate power that could help him conquer not only the city of water, but potentially the whole world, in any time of his choosing. Of course, it had been his ultimate wish since he were a mere boy to rule the world, so he could not afford to pass it up.

Though it irritated him to no ends how this 'assistant' seemed to have more knowledge of receiving ultimate power than he himself did. Regardless of his initial dislike of that situation, he was forced to deal with it. Asking for his help was crucial to receive the amazing force in which he could have his way at long last.

"We're in Soleanna," the doctor snarled eventually, sick to death of the long silence, "Now… how about you tell me how I can obtain this 'ultimate power'?"

"All in good time, doctor," an eerie voice proceeded from the darkness behind him, "Tonight is when we will strike and… ahem… _gatecrash _the Festival of the Sun, which I believe is taking place tonight."

"Why tonight?" the dictator sighed in frustration, his impatience clearly showing, "Why not right now?"

"To obtain ultimate power, we need the two beings who hold the spirits of two legendary monsters, which according to legend, will merge to form one super being capable of controlling time," the assistant explained, "I have found one of them, but it will be difficult to obtain the current holder of the first spirit."

"And why, may I ask, might that be?" the fat scientist asked, his voice rising and becoming more angry by the second.

"The one currently hosting Iblis in their soul, to my knowledge, resides in an alternate dimension," the strange voice answered simply, speaking with an air of knowledge and superiority which Robotnik intensely disliked.

"Damn it!"

The voice ignored Robotnik's brief temper tantrum, "The reason why we must attack tonight, at the time of the Festival of the Sun, is so we can open the gate into that alternate dimension and claim the holder of Iblis' spirit, through using the previous holder of Iblis' spirit."

"And who, might I ask, do we need to get into this _other _dimension? And what about the second host?" Robotnik asked, slowly but surely trying to calm himself down.

"For the second being, I have no current leads as to who might be hosting the other spirit though I will continue to look into it and track the holder down," the voice paused briefly, leaving a tense silence before continuing, "Had you been listening, you would have heard me clearly state that Iblis' previous holder is the person we need to get into the dimension in which the current holder resides."

"And just _who _was the previous holder?" Robotnik snapped; spit flying out of his mouth in a fit of rage.

"None other than one of the inferiors of this world."

Another brief pause followed, as Robotnik strained his ears to catch a name. Finally, the scientist got his wish, "None other than Princess Elise of Soleanna herself."

**A/N **

_Last night I got struck by an idea of a fanfiction, so I felt compelled to write something for once. This was vaguely inspired from Sonic the Hedgehog (for the 360), Sonic Rivals and Sonic Rush. I felt like writing something based off of the events of the 360 game, so this __could__ be considered an adaptation of Rivals and Rush, but I wouldn't go as far as to say it is yet. _

I may update it later, but updates may be few and far between due to college coursework and exams, which I'm putting first since that is top priority. Though I will try to update this when I do have spare time to do so. Though I could have done better than this, I believe. It'd be pointless to ask people not to flame me since there's bound to be at least one person who'll ignore that. Polite critiques are welcome.


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